Get Facebook Video Marketing Right: 4 Factors to Consider

Facebook generates 8 billion video views on average per day. More views than the population of the entire world.

That tends to be the first thing we tell our clients when they ask whether they should be using Facebook video marketing. As much as that number can be contested and the definition of a “view” argued, what is undeniable is the fact that video traffic will be 69% of all global consumer Internet traffic in 2017, rising to 80% by 2019.

Video content is far more engaging and immersive than photos, with a 135% greater organic reach. But what makes a successful Facebook video marketing campaign? Below we highlight some important factors to take into consideration.

Dimensions

Facebook video marketing that is correctly optimised for Facebook’s News Feed will be significantly more effective on the platform, harnessing the fact that native videos on Facebook have 10 times higher reach compared to YouTube links. (Sprout have a good dimension cheat sheet).

Sound

85% of Facebook users watch videos with the sound off, with 80% of users annoyed when videos auto-play sound. Bear this in mind when setting up your campaign. Captioned Facebook video marketing can increase view time by an average of 12%.

Whilst also releasing full trailers, Thor: Ragnarok released edited videos with dynamic subtitles as part of its Facebook video marketing campaign:

Image: https://tinyurl.com/ycrv2plp & https://tinyurl.com/yc5j7jhw

Retargeting

Facebook analytic dashboards are powerful tools, able to provide insight into reach and viewing habits for Facebook video marketing campaigns. These are essential details for the often overlooked option of retargeting. Drill down on the audiences who watch most or all of your video- they will be the core building blocks of your fanbase.

Length

There is an exponential drop off of viewers over the course of a clip. With videos under 5 minutes in length accounting for 55% of total video consumption time on smartphones, it’s worth keeping your Facebook video marketing short and sweet. For case studies and best practices drawn from our own campaigns see the ‘Video’ section of our free ebook (download here).

In the build up to the release of IT, a number of 10-15 second GIF-like videos were released as a Facebook video marketing campaign that could run on repeat:

Image: https://tinyurl.com/y8gqskkp

As with all of Facebook’s video marketing tools, the whole process can take a bit of tinkering to optimise the focus and audience reach . This is by no means an exhaustive list, but if you take these factors into account while going through the Facebook video marketing process, sky’s the limit.